Value of Life

Originally penned Friday, June 10, 2005

It seems like the new catch-phrase in political and religious areas seems to be the “culture of life,” especially in the Republican Party and what is termed ‘Christian right’ groups. Current events like the Terry Shiavo case and pro-life stance on abortion rights seem to echo this view of the culture of life. Or maybe they are serving as a camoflauge for the Republican Party’s true ideology behind their front of the culture of life.


Where did the thought of the culture of life originate? Actually, it was Pope John Paul II’s idea. Pope JP II had developed his campaign of the culture of life, reflecting the value of life Jesus gives to all people.

I think the primary push for me to begin blogging is the growing rate of so-called pro-lifers doing anti-life activities. As a Catholic voter, I have a very difficult time voting because neither the Republican nor the Democratic Party truly support all pro-life policies from pre-birth to death. The Republicans seem to support that some lives are way more important than others, especially those with more money or clout. The Democrats, claiming to be pro-choice, has been tagged at anti-life proponents by the opposition because they want to keep abortions legal.

There are a variety of government policies and laws that contradict the culture of life. The main policy currently in place now is the pre-emptive strike against Iraq and the war that has shattered many lives in that country and the soldiers that have lost their lives for a moot cause. This war is not saving any lives and is in fact putting more lives in jeopardy as these people show their animosity toward the US and this unjust war the US declared on their people. These citizens of Iraq did nothing wrong, yet, they are being punished by this war for the apparent actions of their leader Sadam Hussein for hiding WMDs, his mass killings of his own people, and other atrocities. Since the Bush regime did not find these WMDs, they have taken on the theory that this war is a humanitarian war.

What war is ever a humanitarian war? Wars do not usually hurt those in power, it hurts those (many of them innocent of whatever reason the war is being waged) that have to fight it and be in the thick of it. But wars are declared and fought precisely because of the dictates of a leader. In this war, however, the US did something that Geneva Convention does not condone, they took out the leader, too. Sadam Hussein is now out of power and who knows what’s up with that now.

Now, Iraq is in a state of chaos because not only are they rising up against their US-imposed military state, they are battling for their views of what is right for them, with Sunni, Shia, and Kurds each thinking that they ought to lead the country.

In the Bible, Jesus says that what you do to the least of these, you do for me. If the Republican policy to decrease the funding for title 19 and limit Medicaid coverage says anything, it’ll have the least of these (er, Jesus) sick and dying without any way to pay for the expenses of getting them better. That’s ok because the Republicans are also the big anti-drug pushers, so these sick people will have no way to die painlessly. Maybe this is just the way, since Paul was such a big advocate of suffering in the New Testament. Hmmm, if that’s the case, then why aren’t all these Christian-right people wanting to suffer, too?